Reporting about mainly New Zealand chess activity that is affected by COVID-19 through being suspended, cancelled or postponed.

COVID-19: Chess Activity Affected

Published

12:00 pm

Sun 15th March 2020

Table of Contents

COVID-19: Chess Activity Affected

COVID-19 needs to be slowed down so that people requiring medical treatment at the same time is reduced. Doing so would enable the healthcare system to be better able to cope. The best way currently available to accomplish this is social distancing.

Chess and Social Distancing

Over the board chess has high risk of COVID-19 infection. All chess games played over the board effectively require close contact where people are within a meter of each other for longer than 15 minutes with repeated touching of chess equipment surfaces.

To reduce the rate of infection within the population involved with chess, all over the board chess games need to be stopped. In New Zealand, responsible and prudent chess clubs and organisers should suspend, cancel, or postpone their chess tournaments and games.

Everyone who arrives in New Zealand after 1am Monday 16th March 2020 would need to self isolate for 14 days. Exception being those who come from COVID-19 free Pacific Islands. Therefore social distancing would be prudent for the rest of March 2020. By which time whether there is community transmission of COVID-19 would be known and, hopefully if none, life can return to normal within New Zealand.

Affected New Zealand Chess Activity

These are the chess activities that we know are affected up to 12pm Sunday 15th March 2020. List will be continually updated.

New Zealand Chess Federation has cancelled interschools until further notice. All chess tournaments will not be rated until 30th June. All chess clubs, whether affiliated or not, are strongly advised to suspend activities. This would be reviewed at end of June 2020.

Chess Tournaments

New Zealand Senior Chess Championship 2020 has been postponed to 10th to 13th September 2020. Check event webpage for updates.